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Free launch

CONFIDENT that its rockets won’t fail, Arianespace has decided to offer its
customers a free launch should a rocket fail to deliver their payload into
orbit. Charles Bigot, chairman of the company, said last week that the
guarantee applies only to Ariane 5, the heavy launcher developed by the
European Space Agency, which is expected to make its maiden launch next
November.

The company has calculated the risk of failure to be once every 66.6
launches – more than a rocket is expected to do in its lifetime.